


Skating Into the Wind

by madridistagoblue



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 07:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1809829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madridistagoblue/pseuds/madridistagoblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the Geosenge incident and Lysandre's death, Serena immerses herself in her training as a distraction. But now that she has become champion, she must endure constant badgering while trying desperately to escape the trauma of that day and return to a normal life. Needing an escape from daily life -- and from her sense of guilt -- she takes up an offer to go ice skating on a date. But will it make her feel better or worse to be in the company of someone else whose life changed forever on that day?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skating Into the Wind

There was something calming about the feel of chilled wind blowing through her sweater and brushing up against her chest, as though the physical sensation of numbness could blunt the anxious thoughts trapped somewhere in her body. Serena shifted her weight and propelled herself forward with more force, the breeze she created now catching strands of her long hair, tied very loosely behind her. With each pace her movement quickened, she became more emerged in the sensation of gliding over the ice, a smile eventually gracing its way across her lips.

Perhaps it had been a good idea to travel over the weekend after all. She spent so much time in Lumiose now that the once boundless city had become almost suffocating. The calls were almost constant. The Pokémon League wanted to know if she wanted to take the official seat as Kalos’ Champion, or, perhaps, she’d like to take the gym leader qualification exam. And if they weren’t incessant enough, it seemed as though ten private companies a day wanted to hire her services. Or worse, another news station wanted her for an interview. Fortunately, Professor Sycamore had been kind enough to give her a second holocaster for free — one with a private number on a secure line. Serena suspected the secret communication channel that she and her acquaintances shared had once been used by Team Flare, but she didn’t dare ask the professor. Her mentor was under enough pressure, trying to delegate the responsibilities of the reputable activities of Lysandre Labs since he discovered that his friend had left him the rights to his company, and, by extension, trademarked devices in event of his death.

Going through Lysandre’s will was one of a series of events that had occurred since the incident in Geosenge that Serena had tried to push out of her consciousness with all of her training. Becoming champion of Kalos ceased to be her dream and became instead her destiny. And now that she had reached that goal…well, it was harder to distract herself any longer. Even in the thick of her training, she spent most mornings in a daze. She would wake up several times during the night, even if her dreams had seemed pleasant enough. Her covers were always pushed to the side of the bed, suggesting she had been trashing about unconsciously, like one of her pokémon in a fit of confusion.

Somehow, ice skating took the thoughts out of her mind, replacing them with the fast-paced sensation of adventure. If only for this fleeting moment, Serena felt a sense of calm that she hadn’t felt since the cold October afternoon when she had captured the pokémon now cradled in the dusk ball on her belt.

Yet it was a mood that would fade fast, as she noticed the man who had suggested she come here, leaning on one arm on the gate of the rink, smiling with his eyes focused on her. She slowed her motion, the icy breeze she had created subsiding as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Did you want to go skating, or did you just want to watch me?" she asked sternly, looking him straight in the eyes.

He turned his gaze immediately, as he always did when they locked irises—force of habit, perhaps—and tugged on the collar of his red button-down shirt.

"N—no…" he stammered. "I’m coming."

He ran a hand quickly through his bangs, which lay sloppily in front of his eyes when not pulled up into their signature hair style. His hair was something of an auburn color, its natural brown tones mixing with the remnants of red die. When they were satisfactorily out of his face, he slowly stepped out onto the ice, gradually shuffling himself forward.

Serena shook her head and pushed herself off at full speed, resuming her circles and trying to regain the feeling of peace from before as she left behind the man who accompanied her. To her surprise, about half way around the rink, he passed her, turned, grinned, and continued forward, leaving her behind.

Angrily, Serena picked up speed, the competitive urge she so often felt in battle fueling her forward movement.

"So you can skate after all," she teased in a huffed breath as she caught up with him. "I didn’t expect that from a member of Team Flare—fire and ice and all."

He shot her a smile, and not the wistful smile from before, when he had been watching her skate, nor the playful grin he had given her when he passed her. No, this was the smile Serena hated, and she had seen it on his face so many times. It was self-assured and patronizing, though this time it was his grey eyes looking down upon her that accompanied his expression, not the hazy orbs hidden underneath thick orange sunglasses.

"Skating is a beautiful art," he replied, quite seriously, though anyone else likely would have made the same comment with the same tone in jest. "Of course I can skate."

"Right," Serena muttered, feeling her body tense up. She took a depth breath, trying to get the feeling to subside quickly. Her head felt heavier than it had a moment before; the metaphorical butterfrees had entered into her stomach. Arceus dammit, she couldn’t even hold on to that feeling of freedom for ten minutes anymore. Just the slightest memory of Team Flare could send her into a panic attack.

"I knew I should have stayed off the ice," he replied softly and sadly, interrupting Serena’s internal self-deprecating monologue.

"Well, you’re the one who wanted to go skating," Serena said exasperatedly. "Was that just so you could ogle me?"

The former Flare grunt blushed his favorite color, shook his head no, and hung his head downward towards his skates. Overdramatically, of course, though Serena felt genuinely concerned by his expression.

"I didn’t actually think you’d say yes," he said in a small tone that was barely audible. He looked up. His checks were still flushed pink and Serena doubted it was due to the temperature of the room. "I didn’t really expect the Champion of Kalos to come skating in Snowbelle with a member of Team Flare. Fire and ice and all," he laughed nervously as he repeated Serena’s punch line.

"It was the least that I could do," Serena said in a remorseful tone. She shook her head. "Don’t mind me. I’ve just been overwhelmed recently. Don’t let me keep you from having fun." She turned away from him to keep skating, but he tugged at the sleeve of her sweater suddenly, careful not to pull hard enough to bring her down.

"What do you mean, the least you could do?" he asked.

"Please…"Serena begged him with pleading eyes. For once, he didn’t turn away. His grey eyes remained locked on hers, seemingly puzzled by what he was observing. "I owe you," she said, noticing that he was unsatisfied with her answer. "Let’s leave it at that." She pulled her arm gently out of his grasp and turned immediately before he could notice that her eyes were starting to waver.

"Serena…" he called. He began chasing after her at full speed. "Serena, if you are blaming yourself for what happened at Geosenge…"

"STOP IT!" Serena yelled suddenly, skating to the exit of the rink and walking off as fast as possible. She began crying before she could try to stop herself from becoming swept away by the emotion. This was a terrible idea, she had known it, and yet she couldn’t turn him down. She felt compelled, the same way she had felt compelled to defeat the Pokémon League. The same way she now felt compelled to take on the newest challenge that Trevor and Professor Sycamore had created for her of completing the National Pokédex. She knew how the soldiers of legend must have felt, back in the years of war, when they were given their own parades after returning from battle. She was no hero. She was a survivor.

"Serena, you didn’t know that Lysandre was going to…" the young champion heard. She couldn’t even look at him.

"All I want is to make up for it somehow, but I never will," she interrupted in a slow, controlled voice. Even between sobs she would fight to keep herself in control. "I just want this to go away. You have no idea. The nightmares, the sleepless nights…"

"Never being able to find a single moment of peace?" he interrupted back, suddenly right next to her, his tone becoming angry. Serena stopped talking, caught breathless for a moment by a tone of voice which she had never heard come from him before. She looked in his direction. "Worrying that the whole rest of your life is going to be this same living hell? For the love of Arceus, Serena, you think that I haven’t dealt with this every day since I stood patrol in Geosenge, listening to the screams of my own friends dying?”

"And it was my fault,” Serena answer ashamedly.

"Your fault?" the red-haired man said behind what Serena recognized now were his own tears. "You were just trying to protect everyone. You didn’t fire the weapon. That was Lysandre. If anyone should be ashamed…" he stopped for a moment, gripping Serena’s arm. Serena allowed him to stabilize himself, resisting the urge to back away. "I would have killed everyone," he continued. He looked up, moving his hand from Serena’s arm to her shoulder. "Serena…" he turned his head away, but unexpectedly forced himself to look at her directly, "I would have killed you." And with that, he was lost to a muddle of tears.

"But…you’ve changed, haven’t you…" Serena said, no longer crying herself. She led the flare grunt over to a nearby bench and sat him down before taking the seat next to him.

"I don’t know," he said, shaking his head. "You don’t understand. Lysandre meant a lot to me. The things we stood for…"

"I’m friends with Professor Sycamore," Serena replied in understanding. "They were…" she shook her head, too many memories she had tried to forget re-etching themselves in her mind’s eye, "…they were close," she finished.

"I can’t ever forget who I was," he shook his head. "I started to regret it, though, when…" he stopped. His face was so flushed Serena couldn’t tell if he was blushing again or not.

"When what?" Serena asked. When he didn’t answer, she prodded again.

"You can tell me…it kind of feels better to talk about it, honestly," she sighed. So many thoughts had been trapped in her own mind for too long. Sure, she occasionally shared them with Calem or Shauna, or, more often, with Sycamore. But Shuana hadn’t seen the worst of the incident, Calem wasn’t one for talking, and the professor kept his own emotions just as bottled up as she did. Serena could tell that Sycamore hadn’t been the same in months, but he refused to be anything but happy for her.

So, now, it was so strange. Here he was, her enemy, the cause of this entire mess, and yet this was the first time she felt as though she could be honest about her feelings and have them be understood. And for all the sorrow and the pain she felt having to relive those moments, for some reason it felt liberating—like skating into the wind.

"When I met you," the Flare grunt finished. "You know how they say trainers can understand each other from battle? Your Pokémon respect your strength, but you also treat them with compassion. When I used to think about creating a more beautiful world, I thought about a world with people like you."

Serena turned away, her cheeks becoming hot. She could feel tears coming back to her eyes. How was she even supposed to respond?

"You know," she said, trying to find strength in her voice, but the words came out chocked. "There are much better ways to create a world like that. And you can still do it."

"Me?" he laughed heartily, though sadly, and shook his head. "I’m afraid I really haven’t changed as much as you think, Serena. I’m still just a nameless Team Flare grunt…ex-Team Flare grunt, now, I guess…and that’s all I’ll ever be."

"I don’t think so," Serena said, wiping the tears from her eyes and trying to steady her breathing. "Come on, we should get our skates off," she said as she stood up and walked towards another bench further back where their shoes and bags were sitting.

"Thanks for trying to be nice," the Flare grunt sighed, but Serena was already far ahead, shuffling at the tags on his bag. "And that’s mine, by the way. Mine’s the red one, obviously. Yours is the blue…"

"Yeah, I know…" Serena said, looking up at him with a playful smile, "…Jean-Luc."

The Flare grunt’s expression turned blank.

"You have a property of tag on your skating bag," she said sassily, "nameless Flare grunt." She rolled her eyes in his direction. "I’ve been running into you for ages now, got asked out by you…"

"It—it wasn’t a date—" Jean-Luc protested suddenly.

Serena chose to ignore that comment, continuing on. “And you never once told me your name. Fortunately, the champion is smarter than that,” she tired her best to imitate her counterpart’s self-important smile.

"I told you before…" he replied, his more serious tone returning again, "I wanted to make a name for myself." He blushed, more noticeably this time since he had stopped crying. "I wanted to earn the chance to really introduce myself to you, Serena."

Serena inched closer to him, so that their faces were almost touching now. She looked into his eyes, and, again, he didn’t turn away.

"Then, what are you waiting for?" she smiled.

Jean-Luc smiled back with his cocky Team Flare smile. This time, Serena didn’t mind. “Someone to help me create a more beautiful world,” he said softly, before going in for the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to ishimushroom, whose lovely piece of art on tumblr, linked below, inspired me to write this pairing.   
> http://ishimushroom.tumblr.com/post/75124182933/someones-got-a-cruuush


End file.
